


Beanlight

by Beanbaby



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: F/M, beans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:20:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24505312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beanbaby/pseuds/Beanbaby
Summary: He was impossibly fast, and strong. His skin was pale white and ice cold. He smelled like tomato sauce.
Relationships: Edward Cullen/Bella Swan
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is inspired by @laurenybonner's tweet https://twitter.com/laurenybonner/status/1256560088497524736  
> And also obviously by Stephanie Meyer's Twilight. 
> 
> Dedicated to my dear friend TheBobbinator

Chapter 1

It was Sunday evening; the sun had just dipped below the horizon and the soft glow of twilight filtered through the window into the living room. The sound of a car door slamming brought my head out from my calculus textbook, looking up as Jacob dropped his pen and leapt to his feet to open the door for Billy and Charlie. 

“How was dinner, Dad?” Jacob asked, grabbing the carry-out container of leftovers from Billy as he manoeuvred himself through the hallway. 

“Beautiful steak, as always,” Billy replied. “And beer too,” he added, winking at me as he rolled into the living room. “How are you doing kid?” he asked as I tidied away the worksheets splayed around me on the coffee table. 

“Just great thanks Billy.”

“Settling in well at school?”

I winced a bit. Admittedly, my first week at Forks High School hadn’t been as much of a disaster as I’d been expecting. But even though the school was starting to look like less of a maze, and even though I knew I had a handful of friends already, I still couldn’t get a certain face out of my mind when I thought of returning to school the next morning. Shaking my head to get onyx coloured eyes out of my mind I replied with a small laugh. “Could be worse I suppose. Thanks again for the truck by the way, you shouldn’t have.”

“Not a problem, was mainly Jake’s hard work anyway.” He aimed a soft punch at his son’s bicep, Jacob blushing under the attention.

From the doorway Charlie cleared his throat. “Probably best be on your way before it gets too dark, you two,” he said, detracting attention from Jacob’s embarrassment. Charlie was good like that - he might not say much, but he always knew how to jump in when you needed saving. 

“Right you are Charlie,” Billy said, turning to leave. Jacob followed behind him, swinging his rucksack of school books over his shoulder and swiping his dad’s leftovers from the counter. 

“See you soon, Bells,” he grinned. His smile was like sunshine.

I smiled back. “Not if I see you first!” 

Jacob’s laugh became muffled as he pulled the front door closed behind him.  
I was so lucky to have a readymade best friend in Forks. Jake and I had been joined at the hip every time I’d visited Forks since moving to Arizona with Mom. I’d never tell Charlie, but as a kid I’d almost been more excited to see Jacob than I had been about visiting him. And now I was here for good - so it seemed - and although the prospect of life here often looked bleak, my biggest silver lining was Jacob. How could I stay gloomy with him by my side? 

I’d invited him over in the hopes of starting up some kind of weekend study-buddy tradition. We had different syllabuses - he was a year younger than me and went to school on the Reservation - but I helped him with his essays and he helped me with math, and we worked pretty well as a team, I thought. 

That night I brushed my teeth quickly and flicked on the little portable radio on my bedside table before I crawled under the covers. I was already nervous enough about going to school again tomorrow so the less I thought about Edward the better. The quiet hum of voices from the radio helped my brain to unwind as I turned off my lamp and settled down. I couldn’t afford to dream of Edward again - it was already freaky enough that I’d dreamt of him once, without making it a habit. 

-

The next morning I blinked the sleep out of my eyes as I clambered into my truck. Driving to school I knew what I had to do: I had to confront Edward. It was going to be embarrassing. I’d done my research but I still knew I sounded crazy. But it was all too much of a coincidence. His cold skin, his grace and impossible beauty, the way he seemed able to sit through an entire hour of biology without visibly breathing… Not to mention how he’d somehow run the length of the school parking lot in the blink of an eye, and then pushed an entire van out of the way when Tyler had lost control on the ice last Wednesday. It was starting to feel like a bit too much to ignore.

The one thing that hadn’t fit in before was his scent - not a cologne, but what seemed to be his natural smell. Not that it wasn’t inviting, intoxicating even. But I couldn’t figure out why he always smelt subtly of tomato sauce. Even when there wasn’t any being served in the cafeteria that day. It just hadn’t made sense. 

That was, until Jacob had told me about the Quileute tribe legends. He hadn’t believed them himself, only telling me them to cheer me up and distract me from the bedrest Charlie had forced on me Wednesday evening after the parking lot incident. Well, it certainly had distracted me. I had frozen as soon as I’d pieced together the final parts of the puzzle in my head. Mistaking my realisation as shock from his storytelling Jacob had laughed. He rose from his chair, leaving the book he was reading from on my bedside table.

“It’s only a story, Bella,” he’d said, messing my hair and sauntering out of my bedroom. “But feel free to borrow the book if you liked it!”

Pulling in to a free space in the school parking lot I switched off the engine’s dull roar and ruffled the pages of Jacob’s book, now on the truck bench beside me. It was leather-bound: old and musty with worn corners. The kind of book that looked like it held the world’s secrets. Not just stories.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By lunch time I was practically quaking in my boots. Skipping the cafeteria queue altogether I slipped into my seat. Well, I’d only sat there once before, but when Edward had invited me to eat lunch with him last Friday - or to watch me eat lunch at least - he hadn’t made any indication it was to be just a one-time thing. I only had to wait a minute before a pale hand pulled out the chair opposite me, and then there he was. His tousled bronze hair fell just as perfectly as it had the day I first saw him, framing his angular face beautifully, as though he were a model and not just a high school student. His eyes were a light golden today, sparkling with a smile as he sat down, bringing his sweet smell with him. I’d never much liked tomatoes until I met Edward, but now they seemed to be all I could think about. 

“Hello, Bella,” he greeted me. And just like that my world narrowed to see only him. 

“Hi,” I blushed. He shot me a smouldering look and I felt my head begin to spin already. But I couldn’t afford to lose track of my thoughts again. I had business to address.   
“I need to ask you a question.”

“Anything, Bella,” he said with an easy smile.

I felt my nerves bubble up in my throat and I paused, playing with the sleeve of my cream sweater. Edward reached out to still my worrying hands but recoiled before he reached them, as though he’d thought better of it at the last minute.

“I’ve been doing some reading,” I began, trying not to think about how crazy I was about to sound. 

“Hmm?” 

“My friend Jake told me about these local legends… And…” I was about to bottle out, I could feel it. So I blurted it all out before I could think better of it. “And I was wondering if maybe they weren’t so fictional after all. They sounded a lot like you.”

I studied the cafeteria table so I didn’t have to watch his reaction. But as the silence between us stretched on I chanced a peek up at his face. It was dark like a storm cloud, nostrils flared as he let out a huff of annoyance. In one flowing movement he rose from his chair and grabbed his satchel. 

“If you want to talk about nonsense, Bella, we’ll have to go elsewhere.”

I grabbed my bag and stumbled out of the chair, tripping over my own feet in my haste to catch up with his retreating figure. 

-

We had been walking in silence through the woods at the back of the school for what seemed like an age before he stopped abruptly. But he still didn’t speak, just looked at me in an ever-infuriating silence, as though he was waiting for me to make a fool of myself once again. 

“You’re impossibly fast, and strong,” I began, breaking the muffled quiet of the woods. “Your skin is pale white and ice cold. Your eyes change colour, and sometimes you speak like you’re from a different time. You smell like tomato sauce.” I let my breath out in a puff, watching him move closer to me, pacing around me like a predator. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen.”

“How long have you been seventeen?”

“A while.”

“I know what you are,” I said, my voice wavering.

“Say it. Out loud. Say it.”

“Beanpire,” I breathed.

“Are you afraid?”

“No.”

“Then ask me the most basic question. What do we eat?”

“Beans.” 

Edward’s gaze was unflinching, daring me to show my fear. 

“But I’m not afraid,” I said. “You won’t hurt me.”

He sighed, disappointed in my answer. 

“Bella,” he grabbed my wrist with his frozen fingers, turning me to face where he stood. “You’ve been acting like I’m some kind of hero. What if I’m the bad guy?”

“You couldn’t be, Edward.” 

“I’m serious, Bella. I’m dangerous. Your beans…” he began, sighing and reaching up to wistfully rip a branch off the nearby fir tree with a single hand. He threw the branch, easily twice the size of me, further into the forest, making it look as easy as skimming stones on a lake. “We learn to control our thirst. But it’s you. Your beans… they’re like a drug to me. They’re like my own personal brand of heroin.”

But even as Edward’s eyes implored me to see the danger of my situation, I knew it didn’t matter. It was already too late.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

On Wednesday morning I drew back my curtains and sighed when I saw yet another dull grey sky. What I wouldn’t give for a little sunshine! Still, at least Charlie had helped curate a basic cold weather wardrobe for my arrival. He told me he’d got Sue Clearwater, an old family friend, to help him out. 

“That must be how he managed to choose some sweaters that are actually cute,” I mumbled to myself. I picked out my favourite, a chunky knit cream sweater with a high neck, which I paired with some light beige jeans.

Sitting back on the edge of my bed I picked up my cellphone and dialled Jacob’s number. Again. There was still no answer, same as yesterday evening. I sighed in frustration. At first I’d just wanted to arrange our next study session, but now I was getting worried about him not picking up. It was silly, I knew he was at least a foot taller than me these days and perfectly capable of looking after himself. But I was still worried by his silence. 

There had been a lot of disappearances lately. People vanishing almost without a trace in the woods, and no bodies yet found. There had only been one clue linking the disappearances so far. Beans. A smear of tomato sauce on a nearby tree trunk, a few stray baked beans on the forest floor. Charlie and his department down at the station didn’t know what to make of it. There had been several reports of huge dogs or bears in the woods so they weren’t ruling out animal attacks, but Charlie had confessed that he didn’t have a damn clue why bears would be eating beans. 

In any case, Billy had said that Jacob was just sick. So I tried to relax and trust that he was safe, even though I still couldn’t shake the funny feeling I had about it.  
Out of the corner of my eye I saw a car pull up to the house. It was Edward, coming to pick me up for school. My heart rose in my chest and I struggled to keep my blush under control.   
About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a beanpire. Second, there was a part of him - and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be - that thirsted for my beans. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him. 

-

The bell for the end of third period rang, pulling me out of my daydream. I hastily stuffed my history textbook back in my bag and made my way to the door. Outside waiting for me, leaning against the doorframe, was Edward. He looked unbelievable. Maybe it was the beans that made him - and his whole family for that matter - so irresistible. 

I asked him as we sat down at our lunch table. “So do the beans, like, give you superpowers?” I asked. “Is that why you’re so… perfect?”

Edward chuckled, running a hand through his tousled bronze hair. “I don’t know about perfect, Bella. In fact, I didn’t believe in perfect until I met you.”

I looked down at the table, blushing furiously. With that twinkle in his eye he almost had me believing him too. But it couldn’t be true that a boy like him would want someone as plain as me. Even if I did supposedly have intoxicating beans. There’s more to a woman than her beans, you know?

“Is that how you saved me, then?” I asked, trying to change topic so that he would stop looking at me so intensely. 

“In what way do you mean?”

“When you saved me from Tyler’s van last week,” I clarified. “When you and your family eat beans, it gives you super strength, right? And speed?”

“Almost, but not exactly. You see, I had that strength and speed the moment Carlisle turned me into a beanpire. Beans just make those powers stronger.”

I nodded and took a sip of my lemonade.

“My family and I try to avoid beans though,” he continued in a small voice. “We don’t want to be monsters.”

“Edward you couldn’t be a monster. You saved me, remember!” 

He gave a quiet chuckle. “Even that was selfish, Bella.”

I raised my eyebrow at him, prompting him to explain.

“Yes, I wanted to save you. But more than that… I couldn’t stand to see your beans spilled all over the parking lot. If I’d seen that it would’ve all been over, my family’s secret would be out. There’s no way I could’ve controlled myself.”

I held back a shiver, hearing him talk like that. But I wasn’t going to let him know that I was afraid. 

“Oh. Okay, that makes sense,” I said.

He looked up at me, blinking in disbelief. “It doesn’t scare you? Or creep you out?” 

“No,” I lied.

A short silence stretched between us. I jumped to fill it before he could decide that he was too dangerous for me and leave.

“Will you ever show me how you eat beans?”

“Absolutely not!” His face turned even whiter than usual and his eyes were suddenly furious.

“Okay, okay, I won’t ask again. I’m sorry,” I said quickly, trying to soothe his anger. “You’re hungry now aren’t you?”. I asked it as a question, but I was confident that I was right.

“What makes you say that?” Edward asked, his frustration fading.

“Your eyes. I have a theory. People are crabbier when they’re hungry. And when your eyes are dark like this you’re grouchy. I bet you’re hungry for beans.”

He chuckled. “You are observant, aren’t you?”

I didn’t answer, just listened to him laugh. I could listen to that sound forever. 

“So, no. You can’t watch me eat beans,” he said, much calmer this time. “But you could watch me play baseball, if you like?”

“Baseball?”

“Yes. There’s a storm coming this weekend, it’s the only time we can play. I’ll pick you up Saturday morning.”


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I parked in the driveway and turned off the truck’s engine, leaning back in my seat. It had been a perfect Thursday. Today Edward had worn a pale beige turtleneck sweater and honestly it had taken all my concentration to stop myself from climbing him like a tree in the middle of biology. I hadn’t seen my new friends so much this week, but I wasn’t really bothered about that - none of them could pull off a light knit pullover like Edward could. It was just another day in paradise. 

Leaving the truck I pulled out my cellphone, texting Charlie that it would be lasagne for dinner. I noticed that I still didn’t have any notifications from Jacob. I was annoyed that my paradise could be clouded by Jake’s absence, but I didn’t think it was that unreasonable of me to want a call back. How ill could he be?

“And he said we were best friends,” I grumbled to myself. “Some friend!”

Honestly, I’d had enough. So I turned on my heel and got straight back into the truck, pulling out of the driveway and heading to the Reservation. The rain started to pour as I drove. If Jacob really was ill then I’d feel bad for storming in on him of course, but I could always make him some dinner or cheer him up like he’d always done for me when I was sick. 

And if he wasn’t ill, as I suspected? 

Strangely I found myself almost hoping he wasn’t, just so I could have a reason to yell at him. I was annoyed that I couldn’t see him, annoyed that he’d been ignoring my calls, annoyed that the thought of him had pulled me out of my Edward-induced stupor. In any case, I just wanted to find out the truth for myself. 

-

Pulling up into the Black family’s front yard I saw a tall figure leaving through the back door and retreating towards the forest. Was that really Jacob? Where had all his hair gone? I jumped out of the truck, jogging to catch up with him.

“Hey, Jake!” I yelled. “Jacob!”

He turned slowly to look at me, a weary sadness in his eyes, as though he’d aged overnight. His shirt was off and I would’ve been distracted by that if it wasn’t for his new tattoo. Really, when had he had the time for this makeover? High on his right bicep was a bold design, the deep black lines standing out against his skin. I peered through the rain, my fingers coming up to trace its outline. It was a no entry sign, with a single bean in the centre.

“Is this the tattoo that all those boys in Sam’s gang have?” I asked, angry that they’d pressured Jacob to mark his body, all in the name of some old-fashioned tribal tradition.

“Bella, go home,” he said, his tone defeated.

“No, Jake. I need answers. You’re not sick, why have you been lying to me? Why have you become so mysterious? So sexy? So rude?”

He laughed coldly. “If you’re looking for answers why don’t you ask those filthy beansuckers you love so much?”

I froze. How could he know about Edward? 

“I… Jake, I don’t know…” I stammered. My brain was running a mile a minute. The book; the legends; the Quileute warriors… Slowly the jigsaw pieces put themselves together in my head while I continued to stammer like an idiot. 

“You’re a werewolf?” I asked hesitantly, taking half a step back. 

“Shapeshifter, yeah.”

Maybe those disappearances weren’t so mysterious after all… I took another step back. “Jake, no offence but that’s gross. Can’t you change? Like… just stop?”

“That’s pretty rich coming from you, Bella. Do you ask stinky your boyfriend the same thing?”

“They’re not like that!” I protested. “Not like you wolves. I mean, you’ve eaten beans, Jake.” 

I thought of all the calls Charlie had been on recently, discovering beans on the forest floor. I suddenly realised maybe not running from Jacob when I’d had the chance was a stupid decision.

“We’re not the ones eating beans, Bella,” Jacob said calmly.

I was shocked. I was blinking. I was stuttering but not making an intelligible noise.   
If all those incidents weren’t the Cullens, and they weren’t Jacob and the wolves, then whose fault were they? Could there be others out there? Others who ate beans?   
As though reading my mind Jacob stepped forward to place a hand on my shoulder. 

“Don’t worry, Bella. Your beans are safe as long as we’re around.”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Today was going to be a good day. Today was baseball day. 

I made breakfast for me and Charlie with a spring in my step. I brushed my teeth with a smile. Even the upset from Thursday’s confrontation with Jacob couldn’t dampen my mood this morning. Standing in front of my wardrobe I knew exactly what outfit to put on - I’d been planning it since Edward had first invited me to watch him play. I knew I wasn’t going to be playing with them; even if they didn’t have super speed on their side, I could barely walk without falling on my ass so sports were out of the question. This worked in my favour though, because it meant I could dress up extra nice for the occasion without having to worry about practicality. Who knows, maybe I’d look so good I’d distract Edward from his game…

I cut my thoughts off with a blush. How could I be so embarrassing?

I dressed in the only skirt I owned - long, khaki-coloured, still casual. I paired it with the dark blue sleeveless blouse he’d complimented at school a few days ago. I pulled my hair up into a ponytail and fussed with the hem of the skirt, making sure it sat just right above my tan, closed-toe sandals.

Once I was ready I bounded down the stairs, knowing that Edward would already be outside waiting for me. Beaming, I pulled the door open and almost crashed into him, stood waiting mere centimetres from the threshold. He steadied me, holding me a careful distance away for a few seconds before suddenly pulling me closer.

“You look utterly indecent - ” he murmured in my ear - “no one should look so tempting, it’s not fair.” 

I blushed furiously as he took my hand and led me to the car. 

-

We’d been driving for about half an hour when Edward pulled in to a small parking lot by the edge of the forest. 

“You play baseball here?” I asked, closing the car door behind me. “Isn’t this a bit public?”

“No, Bella,” he chuckled, “it’s still a bit further.” In a flash he’d taken my wrist and pulled me up onto his back. “You’d better hold on tight, spider-monkey.”

“Spider-what?”

Before I knew it we were speeding through the forest at a pace so fast it made me feel sick. I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my head in the back of his shirt, trying not to think about throwing up all over him. 

It could’ve been a minute, it could’ve been an hour, but the next thing I knew we were slowing down. Peeking over Edward’s shoulder I saw we were now in a large field framed by fir trees. The rest of the Cullens were already huddled at the centre of the field, picking teams. As deep purple storm clouds blew in overhead Alice called out.

“It’s time!”

-

Watching the Cullens play was hypnotic. I mean, it was also kind of pointless for me because they moved so fast I could barely see what was going on. But it was mesmerising in that odd way that the supernatural was to me - a shocking secret that I couldn’t look away from. Esme had made me umpire, I’m assuming to make sure I wouldn’t feel left out. But, like I said, I couldn’t fucking see anything, so I mainly just used it as an opportunity to give points to whichever siblings I liked best. 

They’d been playing for nearly an hour when Alice froze. Something was wrong. 

“Someone’s coming. Someone else,” she said, and in a flash the family were by my side. 

“Someone else, like another beanpire?” I asked, trying to hide the tremble in my voice.

“Yes.”

Uh oh. As the visitors came into view I realised these must be the bad guys: the ones who had been eating all the beans. I could tell because their eyes were bright red with all the sauce they’d been eating. I held on tight to Edward’s hand, willing my heart to beat a little quieter in my chest. There were three of them: a tall man with dreadlocks and a maroon blazer buttoned over his bare chest; a blonde man with a ponytail who also had no shirt on; and a woman with curly red hair. She was the only one who knew how to wear a shirt. It seemed that even with their wildly conspicuous and inappropriate fashion sense, this group at least understood that a woman should be covered up. I respected that.

“Room for three more in your game?” the man in the blazer asked.

“No, I’m sorry we were just leaving,” Carlisle replied. I could hear the forced calm in his voice.

“Come on, just one little game?”

Carlisle turned and looked meaningfully at Edward and myself. Turning back to the visitors he conceded. “Okay, we can stay for one more. A few of us were just leaving anyway.”

Edward pulled on my hand, turning us around to leave. All seemed well. 

We walked hastily towards the family landrover - it seemed that a run through the forest maybe wouldn’t be so romantic this time around. As I clambered into the passenger seat, my hands still shaking, a gust of wind whipped my hair around my face. I slammed the door shut behind me, not noticing how the visitors in the field had stiffened as my scent reached them. 

Edward hopped into the driver’s seat and pulled away, accelerating dangerously fast. 

“Hey, why are we going so fast? I’m safe now, right?”

“He caught your scent, Bella,” Edward growled. “James, the one with the ponytail. He’s a tracker. I read his mind from across the field. Now he’s smelled your beans he’ll be obsessed with you until he gets them for himself.”

Oh. I was frozen in panic. Curse me and my delicious beans.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

We made it back to the house in under half the time it took us on the way. I would’ve reminded Edward that Charlie was a cop and so speeding near his house wasn’t a good idea, but it seemed likely he would’ve bitten my head off if I’d tried. 

As soon as Edward had parked in the driveway he was pulling my door open and leading me up the stairs, my arm held too tight in his iron grip. 

“I can walk up the stairs on my own, you know.” I struggled to pull my arm free and he finally loosened his hand.

Sitting down on the edge of my bed Edward began to explain the severity of our situation. He was talking about fighting and battles and next-day flights to who-knows-where, and it was all a bit too much to handle. How many people were now going to die, just because James had taken a fancy to my beans?   
Esme?   
Charlie?   
Edward?   
I couldn’t stand thinking about it. I had to come up with a plan. A better plan than Edward’s - one that didn’t involve fights to the death. If I could just do that then maybe I could save the ones I loved.

About ten minutes later we’d settled into an uncomfortable silence, both sat on my bed. We were meant to be waiting for a phone call from Alice - she was booking flights for me, her, and Jasper, going somewhere far away. I know Edward had told me where, but honestly I hadn’t been listening. I knew I couldn’t afford to waste a single second coming up with my own plan, and did it really matter if I ignored Edward, knowing full well I was going to disobey him anyway? 

“I need the bathroom, I’ll be back in a minute,” I told Edward, rising from the bed. Walking past my dresser on the way out of the room I made sure to quietly slide my cellphone into my hand.

I locked the bathroom door behind me and tried to keep my breathing even - Edward would be able to hear if I got flustered and it would make him suspicious. There was no need to panic, I reminded myself, I knew what I had to do. 

Edward had told me that James was an excellent tracker, almost unstoppable. That meant the fight to save me would almost certainly be deadly. And I wasn’t worth dying over. I had to do something that neither James or the Cullens would be expecting, and I was sure none of them had bet on me handing myself over to die. I figured at least if I made it quick nobody else would have to get hurt because of me and my beans. 

That part of the plan I’d known almost immediately. The tricky bit was how to distract Edward so that I could get out of the house on my own - he had supernatural senses and I was just a clumsy human. But remembering his reaction when he first saw me in my khaki skirt this morning I realised I might have a chance. 

Pulling up the camera on my phone I was all too aware that I was woefully inexperienced. How was I supposed to get the angles right? If only I had time to call Jessica and ask for some pointers. After a few failed attempts at twisting my body in various directions I opted for propping my phone up and setting it to self-timer. The result was perfect. I felt myself blush as I looked it over - it was shot from the waist down, my long khaki skirt falling heavily over my frame. My hands were placed casually by my thighs, holding up the material so that my ankles were clearly visible in the frame. It was exactly what I’d been imagining, but now that I saw it I couldn’t help but feel ashamed. I had never Sexted before but I knew it was wrong to use my body as a lure like this. But there wasn’t any time to berate myself for my loose morals now. I pressed send. 

Through the wall I heard the ding of Edward’s phone, followed by a soft exclamation. I blushed again, knowing how tantalised he would be. I paused by the door for a couple more seconds, wanting to make sure that he would be in enough of a horny stupor not to notice me making my escape. I counted down from ten and slipped out of the bathroom door, tiptoeing down the stairs and out of the front door without so much as a single stumble. He hadn’t heard me. 

That was the tricky bit done, now all I had to do was save Edward.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I stumbled uphill through the trees, branches scratching at me as I kept running. I was close by now, I was sure of it. I’d only been there once before but it was hard to forget Edward’s favourite meadow, secluded and filled with bluebells. It was his favourite place to hang out when he was feeling depressed, so he was there a lot of the time. It was about ten minutes walk through the woods from my house, but I’d been running as much as I was able, so it had only taken me about six. Still, I knew I couldn’t be complacent - Edward might catch up with me at any second, and that was not an option. 

It was the perfect place for me to go, I thought, because mine and Edward’s scents would still be mingling there. If James was half as good at tracking as Edward had told me, he’d know to look for me there. It also helped that I’d been dropping beans behind me as I jogged through the woods, making sure to be generous with my handfuls so that the scent would be concentrated. I knew it would drive James wild smelling my beans out in the open like this.

Suddenly I burst through the tree line and found myself in the clearing. I was thrilled I’d actually managed to find the place on my own. The flowers were still just as vibrant as the day Edward had taken me here. I remembered him plaiting my hair and telling me exactly how I wasn’t at all like the other girls. How poetic, I thought, to end up dying here too.   
I walked forward into the centre of the meadow, looking around for James. This needed to be quick or Edward would find me and face getting hurt again. I only had to wait a couple of seconds before I saw a blonde figure emerging from the woods on the other side of the clearing. He was beside me in a flash, his icy hand caressing my cheek. 

“I really wish you hadn’t done this, Bella,” he breathed, his face ever so close to mine. “You’ve made this too easy.”

“Wh- what?” I stammered.

He tutted, playing with my hair where it fell down my back. “I love to hunt, Bella. It’s not half as much fun if the prey just hands itself to you.” I shivered as he circled me. “Lucky for you, I brought my own entertainment.” 

He brought a slim video camera out from his back pocket. Gross. 

“I think I’ll make a little memoir of our time together. Maybe I’ll send it to Edward too, so he has something to remember you by.”

Tears sprung to my eyes. I realised that fighting wasn’t the only way that Edward could get hurt, and my plan was going to make sure of it.

“Edward has nothing to do with this!” I sobbed. “Leave him alone, you creep!”

“Well that’s just it, Bella,” he explained. “You see, I’m not just a creep. I’m a big old voyeur; a multifaceted pervert.” He picked up my hand, holding it out to examine where I’d been clutching the beans just a few minutes before. “And who could blame me when Edward sent you out here looking so… ravishing,” he said, looking me up and down. 

God, I was so stupid. I knew I should’ve changed out of my khaki skirt before I left. 

He took a step back, pointing the camera at me and raising his arm, ready to strike. I closed my eyes. I waited for the pain to start. But nothing happened. 

Then a growl. 

My eyes shot open in time to see a huge black wolf come lunging forwards and snatch James off his feet. I shrieked in surprise. The black wolf was followed by at least four others, all growling ferociously. I watched in utter shock as they threw James around like a rag doll, tearing his pale body to shreds. 

The largest russet coloured wolf turned away from the pack and plodded back towards me. I was surprised to realise that I didn’t feel at all nervous. The wolf hung his head to nudge at my side. Jacob had been right: with him around of course my beans were safe. I couldn’t quite believe it.


	8. Epilogue

Epilogue

Once again I was sat in the bluebell meadow, but this time it was three months since James had been killed. There hadn’t been a single mysterious bean spotting since that day, Charlie had said, and Forks was safe again. I was sat doing my latest English assignment and Edward was beside me, playing with my hair - he’d completed high school ninety years ago so he didn’t need to do homework anymore, because he was a pervert. 

I closed my poetry textbook and looked up at him. I would never tire of how perfect he looked, sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. I sighed.

“You can’t protect me forever, Edward,” I said, beginning a conversation we’d had many times before in the last three months. “The only way for me to be safe is to be one of you.”

“No,” he shook his head, just like he had last time. “It’s not a life I could inflict upon you. Even if I am already damned regardless.”

I huffed. “Edward, you couldn’t be damned. So what if you eat beans? That doesn’t take away your soul!”

He just shook his head.

“Edward, I don’t care about my soul. Beans or no beans, my soul isn’t worth anything to me if I can’t be with you.”

His eyes had a tortured look about them, but he didn’t vocalise what he was feeling - I guess because after an entire century of being a knob it was too hard a habit to break.

“Edward,” I tried again, “let me eat beans.”

He shifted uncomfortably, then smiled as an idea dawned on his face. 

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Yes, Bella. You can eat beans. But first, marry me.”

“What?” I asked, failing to see the connection.

“Call me old-fashioned, but I want us to be bound in every human way possible before you eat beans.”

It was old-fashioned. And irritating. But if one afternoon in a white dress was what it took to find my future then I supposed I would just have to endure it. I placed my hand in his.

“And then it’s just us? Forever?” I asked.

“Yes. Just you, me, and beans. Forever.”


End file.
